This invention is related to tools for removing a grille from a window or door opening, such as during a fire or other emergency, when the occupants of the building must exit through the opening.
Residents of many major cities commonly install steel grilles over building openings to prevent burglars and other unauthorized persons from entering the building. A problem sometimes occurs when a fire or other catastrophe arises in the building and the occupants are unable to exit either through a window opening having a grille or through a door opening having a grille locked closed.
Firemen frequently use pinch bars, a 6 foot long tapered bar to tear the grille from the opening. This tool is usually ineffective because the user cannot obtain sufficient leverage between the grille and the frame to remove the grille. The end of the bar digs into the wooden frame around the window rather than loosening the grille.
A similar type of tool is a lumber peavey, a stout lever having a hinged metal hook, however, the end of the lever is usually pointed so that it cannot function for removing a grille because the end of the lever would dig into the frame.